Week 13: ...Did You Say Intestines?

So this year for Thanksgiving we went to Texas and ate with the people related to me through my step dad. My step dad is straight up Mexican and so are the people we visited. They had some familiar foods, like pie and turkey, but other foods were rather strange to me. For example, I tried cow intestines (it took a lot of peer pressure) that were fried. My family ensured me that they taste just like french fries, but I ensure you, they do not. There were also many soups made of odd thing. One of the soups left noting of a poor, unfortunate pig to waste, all parts cooked in. The pig soup, I did not try. Most of the soups were very spicy. I missed the soups that I knew, like chicken noodle. 

Most years, I eat my Thanksgiving dinner right here in Illinois, at my grandma's house. All my uncles, aunts and cousins from my dad's side gather together. Everyone brings separate dishes, which means we always pretty much end up with the same things. My Aunt Lisa brings Texas sheet cake. My Aunt Courtney always has corn casserole. My grandpa creates homemade ice cream and we bring chilli. My grandma makes the rest of the meal, like ham, yams, and turkey. When my cousin was going to collage, he worked at a sea food joint and would bring a big platter of shrimp, lobster and other food from the sea. That would always be the first to go because that was the only thing my grandmother would let us eat before meal time; Sea food, veggies, and cracker. I prefer my Illinois Thanksgiving over my Texas experience, but they are both fun.